Salone del Mobile’s Euroluce exhibition has always served as a preview of bright new things to come, hosting high-profile unveilings from top lighting manufacturers. It’s at Euroluce that now-beloved designs like Flos’s expressive Wireline fixture by Formafantasma (more on them in a minute…) and Louis Poulsen’s experimental QE Quasi light by Olafur Eliasson made their splashy debuts.

But this year, the biannual fair-within-a-fair (which had been on extended hiatus since the 2019 edition of Salone as a result of the pandemic) offers a taste of the future in more ways than one. Indeed, Euroluce’s four 2023 pavilions will act as experimental testing grounds, previewing a new fair layout inspired by Italian urban planning that may eventually extend to the entire Salone.

A few brands have already offered an early preview of the lighting that they’ll be displaying at the 2023 fair, while others have been slightly more cryptic about their Euroluce plans. (For instance, Philippe Malouin posted on Instagram that Flos’s booth will be “VERY special” this year.) Here are five displays that we’re looking forward to admiring in person.

1.

Cloud by Lasvit

Lasvit’s art director Maxim Velčovský has planned the brand’s 2023 booth around the theme “It All Comes from Above.” At the heart of it will be Velčovský’s own feature installation, which draws inspiration from both the sky and the technological phenomenon of “the cloud” to combine sheets of glass with snaking LED tubes.

This spectacular mash-up of nature and science-fiction will serve as the centrepiece to a display that also promises heavenly introductions from David Rockwell, Yabu Pushelberg, LLEV and the Campana Brothers.

2.

Portables by Tom Dixon

British designer Tom Dixon has always been known for the rock ‘n roll sensibility of his lights. Now, he’s ready to take his show on the road — or at least outside to the back patio — with a new category of rechargeable lights that scale popular designs like Melt (pictured) down to portable proportions. 

This series of indoor- and outdoor-friendly will join two other launches: Puff, a polyhedral form of 30 metal panels, and Cone, a pedestal that can be fitted with popular Tom Dixon shades like Mirror Ball and Globe to create new styles of floor or table lamps.

3.

Chapeau and Fregio by Foscarini

Our hats go off to Italian architect and designer Rodolfo Dordoni for this Foscarini table lamp offered with a diffuser shade in your choice of three materials: painted steel (shown), blown glass or bone china. Each “hat” filters light in its own way, creating different glows to suit a variety of environments. All three versions rest on a transparent pyrex base.

Another standout introduction from the brand is Andrea Anastasio’s Fregio, which clamps two floral ceramic bas reliefs on either side of a central metallic bar equipped with an LED. Like much of Milan itself, it’s a fabulous fusion of old and new.

4.

Knit by Vibia

Working with Vibia, Cologne-based designer Meike Harde reimagines the traditional fabric lampshade as a knitted lycra sleeve. Stretched over an aluminum ring casing, this covering is stitched with ribs using a complex “technical knitting” technique lifted from the world of sportswear.

Allowing light to seep both outwards through its translucent fabric and downwards through its open base, the light produces a distinctive warmth. The range includes five pendants and four floor lamps, each with their own pleasingly bulbous proportions.

5.

Constellations

Central to Euroluce’s new layout will be a special exhibition curated by Italian architect Beppe Finessi and featuring contributions from artists like Nanda Vigo and Andrea Bowers. Seven site-specific installations (dubbed “constellations”) featuring lighting artworks old and new will be housed within modular structures (“intermezzos”) designed by Formafantasma using recyclable wood.

The idea is to showcase lighting as not just a product but an experience. This ties into Salone’s broader mission to foster stronger social connections. “To create these connections, the layout of the fair is very important,” says Salone president Maria Porro. “So we decided to have an urbanistic approach. To think about the fair as a city, an ideal city, starting from the pavilions of Euroluce.”

Euroluce runs from April 18-23, 2023 as part of Salone del Mobile. Follow us on Instagram for on-the-ground updates.